Selling and buying without an agent in Massachusetts

Who runs your closing

Massachusetts is an attorney state. A licensed Massachusetts attorney conducts the closing: they examine and certify title, issue title insurance, hold the escrow funds, prepare the settlement statement, and record the deed at the Registry of Deeds. The Supreme Judicial Court has treated the conveyancing steps of a closing as the practice of law, so an attorney is not merely a custom here. As a for-sale-by-owner seller you will still deal with a closing attorney, who often represents the buyer’s lender. Strongly consider retaining your own attorney to draft or review the purchase and sale agreement, since the standard form tends to favor whoever prepares it.

What you must disclose

Massachusetts follows caveat emptor and has no mandatory seller condition-disclosure form. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors publishes a voluntary Seller’s Statement, but you are not obligated to use it. What you cannot do is lie or conceal. Misrepresenting a known defect, or actively hiding one, is actionable, and you must answer a buyer’s direct questions truthfully. By statute, M.G.L. c.93 s.114, you need not disclose that a property is “psychologically impacted.” The affirmative duties are narrow: lead paint under M.G.L. c.111, and the Title 5 septic system inspection under 310 CMR 15.000 for a home not on public sewer.

Transfer taxes

Massachusetts calls its transfer tax the deeds excise, imposed under M.G.L. c.64D. The statewide rate works out to $4.56 per $1,000 of the sale price, which is $2.28 per $500, and the seller customarily pays it. The Department of Revenue administers the excise, and you buy the stamps through the Registry of Deeds when the deed is recorded. Barnstable County charges a higher rate to fund the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund, so confirm the local figure if your property sits on the Cape.

The bottom line for doing it yourself

Selling without an agent in Massachusetts is workable, but plan around the attorney requirement. Because a lawyer runs the closing no matter what, much of the legal machinery gets handled for you. Your real jobs are pricing, negotiating the purchase and sale agreement, and answering honestly when a buyer asks about the house. Budget the deeds excise as a seller cost. This is general information, not legal advice, and in an attorney state, having your own lawyer read the P&S is money well spent.